The Adventures of Arnold Bittleby
by itsverity
Summary: This is a story about Arnold Bittleby, a first year Hufflepuff who just wants to be noticed. He forms an unlikely alliance with Draco Malfoy and finds himself mixed up in the mischief of Hogwarts, all while discovering what it really means to be great. Mentions of Dramione, goes along with Late Night Chats and Purple Cats.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This fic is a sort of spin off of my other story, Late Night Chats and Purple Cats. This story will make some references to that one, so if you found this another way than the AN in my other story, you might want to check it out. Ch. 10 is where this one starts if you don't want to read the whole thing.**

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Arnold Bittleby, age eleven, felt that he was by no means remarkable. He was rather skinny and small with mousy brown hair. His stature had already earned him the nickname "Littleby" from several of his classmates. Much to his dismay, Arnold had been sorted into Hufflepuff. He was hoping to get into one of the more popular houses, like Gryffindor or Slytherin. Despite all of their hard work, Hufflepuff was always considered to be the least exciting house, which Arnold found to be completely unfair. He worked harder than them all, but no one seemed to notice. Of course, no one could really get noticed when they went to the same school as Harry Potter. He was always the center of attention, though Arnold thought he didn't seem to like it much.

He was only a few weeks into school, and Arnold was sure he was going to be stuck being "Littleby" for the next seven years. He needed to do something fantastic that would get him noticed, and then everyone would be so impressed that Littleby would disappear forever. But what could he do? There were a couple of pranksters who had already turned Mr. Filch's cat purple, and then just a few days later had turned over half of the staff's hair pink at breakfast! For some reason they wanted to stay anonymous, which Arnold found to be rather ridiculous. If he had turned Professor Snape's hair pink, he would surely want recognition for his work even if it would get him in loads of trouble.

Being a first year, Arnold didn't think that he had the skill to pull of any such stunts yet, at least not alone. But his best friend Ralph Patinsky (and if he was being completely honest, his only friend) couldn't be bothered. Unlike Arnold, he was perfectly content blending in the background. Maybe if he was patient enough, something, an idea would hit him right in the—

"Oof." Arnold had just been hit by someone significantly taller than him. He looked up and realized with a sudden dread that it was Draco Malfoy who was notorious for bullying anyone who got in his way. Arnold braced himself for the onslaught. Surprisingly, it never came.

"Oh, excuse me," Draco mumbled.

Arnold stared at him in shock. Slowly he made his way back towards Ralph without taking his eyes off Malfoy.

"Ralph!" he whispered excitedly. "Did you see that? Malfoy didn't kill me!"

Draco also seemed to realize what happened. He looked back at Arnold with mild concern on his face. Quickly he shook his head and walked away.

Of course, Ralph didn't share Arnold's enthusiasm of not being pummeled.

"Maybe he was just having a good day. Doesn't mean he'll want to suddenly be your friend or anything."

Arnold sighed. "Why are you always so pessimistic? And I call you my best friend."

Ralph smiled. "Yeah, but that's your problem isn't it? I quite enjoy my negativity. It keeps life from getting too disappointing, you know?"

"You seriously depress me sometimes. Let's just go back to the common room. McGonagall gave us so much transfiguration to do."

The two boys made their way back to the Hufflepuff common room. Ralph began to discuss the rest their homework for the night. Arnold's mind, however, was elsewhere. He couldn't help but wonder of Draco Malfoy could be his ticket to success.

* * *

Over the next few days, Arnold pondered just how he could get Malfoy to work with him. He didn't know too much about him, other than his negative reputation, but as Arnold had witnessed it didn't always show through. Besides, Malfoy was a fifth year, so he had to know something good. After much thinking, he decided that being friendly would be the best move to warm him up. So for the next several days, whenever Arnold and Draco would pass in the halls, Arnold would grin and wave enthusiastically. The first few times Arnold would receive nothing but a confused look from the older Slytherin. But after a while, he seemed resigned to his fate and began to nod politely as they passed. Arnold considered this a success.

The next week, Arnold decided it was time to actually speak to Malfoy. One day when he saw him walking alone, Arnold ambushed him, feigning first-year confusion.

"Hello, Malfoy!" He called cheerily as he approached the blond boy,

Malfoy looked around to make sure there was no one else named Malfoy in the vicinity and then regarded Arnold with apprehension.

"Uh… hi…" He paused, not knowing a name.

"Bittleby. Arnold Bittleby." Arnold stuck out his hand.

Draco shook it slowly. "Er, okay. Is there a reason you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," he said confindetly. "I was wondering if you could help me out with an arithmitancy problem. You seem like a smart fellow."

"Thanks. I think. Well, have you tried the library? It's actually quite useful."

Arnold could see that Malfoy was trying to escape. That could not happen if his plan was going to work.

"Yes," he said quickly. "But it's always easier if someone explains it to me. And Professor Vector kind of scares me," he added as an afterthought.

Draco seemed to become much friendlier after the last statement.

"Nah, she's not so bad after you've had her for a while. Okay, let me see the problem."

Arnold handed him the book and began to talk as Draco looked over the problem.

"So there's been a lot of crazy stuff going on here, huh? Is there always this much pranking? That whole disappearing bacon act was really great, even though I was pretty sad about the no bacon part…"

For some reason Draco seemed somewhat bitter about this.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand dismissively. "Everyone apparently _loves_ bacon…"

"Right… well wouldn't it be cool to do something like that? I mean as long as I didn't get caught. Or maybe getting caught would be good, then everyone would be impressed…"

Draco shook his head. "You talk a lot, did you know that? It's okay though, reminds me of someone else I know. And you should probably figure out your arithmitacny before you go around wreaking havoc on the place." Draco showed Arnold a trick that made the problem (which he actually already knew how to do) much easier.

"Thanks. Do you think the pranksters will do something soon? It's been a really long time."

A look that could be described as mischievous crossed Draco's face.

"Oh, yes. I have a feeling that something will be happening _very_ soon." He stood there for a moment, lost in thought.

"Anyways, I have to go. See you around, Arnold." Without looking back, Draco left.

Arnold watched his retreating figure go down a flight of stairs. His plan had gone even better than imagined! And he had remembered his name! There was definitely something interesting about Draco Malfoy, and Arnold was determined to use that to his advantage.

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**Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter! Follow if you want to read more :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've realized that this story won't make tons of sense to those who haven't read my other one, but I'm going to keep posting for now :)**

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Just as Draco had predicted, the next day brought another prank. Hagrid's flobberworms were wearing purple ribbons. Arnold had yet to experience flobberworms, but from what he had seen so far, he couldn't even begin to imagine what their purpose was. Hagrid seemed to like them enough.

"Attention, students," Dumbledore began. Arnold glanced over at Draco to see what he thought. Just as he looked over, he could've sworn he saw Draco wink. He craned his neck to see who it could've been, but he couldn't pick anyone out from the Gryffindor table behind him. Maybe it was just his imagination.

"Hey, Ralph."

Ralph looked up from his toast and raised his eyebrows.

"Who do you think is behind the pranks?"

Ralph shrugged. "I don't know, but that's the fun part, right? Why?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Do _you _know something?"

Arnold decided to keep his suspicions about Draco to himself. As much as he liked Ralph, he didn't think is friend would understand.

"Nope," he lied easily. "Just curious, that's all." He pretended to be absorbed in Dumbledore's speech while trying to ignore that nagging guilt that he felt about lying to Ralph.

"… as you all very well know is strictly prohibited. If you have any information, do not hesitate to inform me. Thank you, students."

As the speech finished, everyone began to make their way out of the Great Hall. Arnold scurried to catch up with Draco, hoping to confront him before classes began. Just as he caught sight of his hair, however, Arnold bumped into a fellow-first year, a snobbish Ravencalw named Cynthia Talbot.

From the very first day of school, Cynthia made it clear that she did not like Arnold. It had all started on the train when Arnold, bouncing down the aisle of the train with excitement, accidentally spilled his pumpkin juice all over Cynthia's new robes. She was furious because all of her other robes were packed away in her trunk and she couldn't get to them before the sorting ceremony. Arnold apologized profusely, but she would hear none of it. All attempts at reconciliation had been abandoned by the end of the first week.

"Watch where you're going, _Littleby_," she sneered. Arnold had a nagging suspicion that Cynthia had been the one who came up with the name, though he was never able to confirm it.

The momentary distraction had caused him to lose sight of Draco. After sticking out his tongue at Cynthia, Arnold dejectedly made his way towards the Hufflepuff common room to grab his books before arithmitancy.

* * *

The days came and went, and Arnold became increasingly busy with schoolwork. As much as he wanted to confront Draco about the possibility of him being a prankster, he could never find the right moment. Besides, what if he was wrong? Arnold didn't want to get on Draco's bad side now. So, he continued to smile and wave in the hallways, and much to Arnold's delight, Draco sometimes initiated the greetings himself.

One day Arnold bumped into Draco while wandering around the entrance hall. All of the third years and above had gotten to go to Hogsmeade for the day. Ralph was playing wizard's chess with a second year Hufflepuff, so Arnold went off by himself.

It had been weeks since Arnold had last spoken to Draco. Draco was carrying a small bag, which he seemed to be trying to hide discreetly. Of course, this made Arnold all the more curious.

"Hello, Malfoy!" Arnold called as he made his way through the crowd. "Watcha got there?"

Draco hid the bag behind his back. Arnold thought he caught a glimpse of something shiny…and purple?

"Oh, hi… It's nothing, Arnold. And call me Draco, would you?"

"Okay, Draco." Arnold grinned. "Doing some Christmas shopping then?"

"Sure, you could say that. Are you getting ready for exams? How's Arithmitancy coming along?"

"It's great. I think I'll do well."

"Well, that's good. I should probably go do some studying of my own. Bye, Arnold." Draco ran off, still trying to hide his shopping bag.

Changing the subject? Hiding mysterious shopping bags? Oh, yes. Draco Malfoy was most definitely up to something.

He didn't see Draco much after that. A couple of times he saw him leave the library with a pretty brown haired girl who he knew to be Hermione Granger, one of Harry Potter's friends. They would always leave around the same time, though they pretend like they weren't doing it on purpose. How odd. There was definitely _something_ going on between the two. They were always glancing at each other during meals. How come no one else noticed?

Exams came and went. Finally, it was time for winter break. Students were running around everywhere trying to get their belongings. The morning had twice the craziness because the pranksters had struck again the night before, turning the whole Great Hall into a purple winter wonderland. And there was purple tinsel strung all about the hall, probably what Draco had been hiding in the bag. Arnold had just finished helping Ralph pack up his trunk. Ralph was going home for the holidays, but Arnold decided it would be easier to just stay at Hogwarts.

Not more than thirty minutes later the castle was so quiet it seemed that no one had even been there in the first place. Arnold was just about to head back to the common room when he heard purposeful strides coming from behind. He turned to see Draco Malfoy, all smiles, practically strutting down the hallway.

"Arnold!" He called cheerfully. "How are you?" Draco was still beaming. It was honestly quite frightening.

"Um. I'm okay. What about yourself? You seem awfully happy."

"I am! This is going to be the best Christmas ever."

"And why is that?" questioned Arnold.

"I can't tell you!" Draco stated matter-of-factly, though still very happily. Draco ruffled Arnold's hair affectionately. "See you later, buddy!"

"Bye," Arnold called weakly as Draco strutted away.

Arnold had a feeling that Draco's cheeriness had something to do with that girl he had been hanging around with so often. As much as he liked seeing people happy, he wasn't sure if the world was ready for a perpetually peppy Malfoy. Shuddering at the thought, Arnold walked back towards his common room while trying to smooth his hair back down.


	3. Chapter 3

Five days later, Arnold had decided that staying at Hogwarts was a terrible idea. He had absolutely _nothing_ to do. None of the other Hufflepuffs that stayed behind knew Arnold very well, and they were all third years, so they didn't pay him too much mind and Arnold wasn't too keen on approaching them. So, Arnold found himself wandering the corridors alone, wishing that Ralph was there to talk to. Occasionally he would see Draco, but he was always accompanied by a dark haired boy, Blaise something-or-other. They always seemed to be arguing about something, though Blaise appeared to have the upper hand.

Christmas came and went. Arnold had fun opening presents with his fellow Hufflepuffs, and even made a few friends while trading chocolate frog cards. Overall, Arnold felt that it was the best day of break so far, largely due to the fact there were presents and people to interact with. However, the best day ended up coming a few days later while Arnold was again wandering the halls.

"Arnold!" He heard someone call out behind him. He turned around and saw Draco walking towards him, carrying a book in his hands.

"Hey, Draco. What's up?" Arnold asked casually. He didn't want to seem _too_ excited that Draco had approached him this time.

"I need your help with something."

Arnold looked at him for a moment.

_Did he just ask for _my _help?_

"Uh, really? You want me," he gestured to himself. "To help _you_?"

"Yep! You're small and innocent looking, which makes you perfect for the job."

Arnold tried not to be offended by the small comment. "Um. Okay. And what job would that be?"

"See this?" Draco showed Arnold his book. It was a book of muggle pranks. "Someone gave this to me. I don't understand some of it because it's a muggle book, but I'm going to use it to get back at my friend Blaise. He's been ragging on me a lot lately. Anyways, I need an accomplice, will you do it?"

Of course he would! Finally he had a chance to do something that would make him more than just some regular Hufflepuff. Arnold could hardly stop himself from gushing gratitude. He forced himself to feign coolness.

"Yeah, I guess so. Might be fun." He took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Who gave you the book anyways? Your pranking partner, perhaps?"

Draco's face became a mixture of shock and confusion. "My what?"

"Your partner. You're behind all of the purple pranks, aren't you? Good job on the decorating, by the way."

Draco seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before responding. He gave into defeat. "Thanks," he muttered. "How'd you figure it out?"

"It was kind of obvious. Well, to me it was anyways. You seemed to know just when they were about to strike that time I talked to you, which was a huge sign. Plus you and that Hermione Granger girl are always looking at each other during meals. Very conspirital. Is that even a word? Conspirational? Conspiratorial? Yeah I think that last one's right…" Arnold kept murmuring to himself, nearly missing Draco's response.

At the mention of Hermione's name, Draco seemed to recoil a little. "Granger! What do you know about her?" he asked, a little defensively.

Arnold felt slightly uncomfortable. "Uh, nothing," he replied. "Just that she's your prank partner, right? Unless there's something else going on?"

Draco's face had taken on a noticeable pink tint. "Nope. Nothing else. Nothing at all." He chuckled nervously.

Arnold knew he was lying, and he had a suspicion that Draco knew that he knew. He decided to drop the subject matter, not caring to have an awkward discussion with the older boy at the moment. "Okay, what do I need to do to help you get back at Blaise?"

Draco smiled mischievously. "Go to the kitchens and grab a couple of things for me."

Now Arnold definitely felt offended. That wasn't the job of a pranking accomplice, that was a job for a lowly errand-runner.

"Seriously? _That's_ what you needed me for? Why can't you do it yourself?"

"The house elves don't like me much. Come on, Arnold. Just…" He waved his hand impatiently. "…_go_ will you?"

"Fine," Arnold huffed. "What do you need?"

"Cream cheese and peppermints. Not too much of either, okay? And Arnold," Draco called as Arnold turned to leave.

"Yeah?"

"Everything you know about this pranking thing stays between us. Don't tell anyone, not even your little friend."

"Got it. You can count on me!"

Arnold scurried off to the kitchens. It was a good thing the Hufflepuffs were so close or else he might not have figured out the entrance until much later. He tickled the pear on the painting and stepped into the kitchen. There were fewer elves than normal bustling around. One approached him and bowed deeply.

"Hello, young master. How may I assist you?"

"Hi. Could you give me some cream cheese and peppermints, please?"

"Certainly." The elf bowed his head. "May I inquire for what purpose you need these? We elves will be making dessert for tonight."

Arnold hesitated, trying to think up a lie. "Ummm… Well, you see, I have this friend who _really_ likes cream cheese and peppermints… and I'm trying to surprise them?" He finished lamely, hoping it was enough to get him what he needed.

The house elf looked confused, but asked no further questions. "As you wish, young master." He disappeared and then reappeared with the items.

"Thank you," said Arnold. The elf bowed in response. He ran off to meet Draco.

* * *

"Here you go!" Arnold said proudly, handing Draco the items.

"Excellent. The house elves didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

"Nope. What are you planning on doing with this stuff?"

"You'll see! The peppermints won't come in until later. I might need you again for that, so keep an eye out… Oh, here comes Blaise. I think he already figured out my first prank. I was hoping he wouldn't find it until tomorrow morning… Ah, well. He hid the cream cheese and peppermints in his satchel before Blaise could see them. "You should probably go now," said Draco, looking pointedly at the hall next to them."

"Right, bye." Arnold hurried around the corner, but stopped so he could listen to their exchange.

"Malfoy!" he heard Blaise call, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Who was that you were just talking to?"

"No one. Just a first year I've somehow befriended. How are you doing, mate?"

"Oh, I'm fantastic. Except I noticed something rather odd. You see, I spilled hot chocolate on my shirt and I went to my dresser to get a new one, but somehow all of the drawers were switched around. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"Nope. What an interesting situation you've got there."

"Whatever, Malfoy. I'm watching you."

Arnold realized the voices were getting louder. They were headed towards him! He scampered into an empty classroom and waited until they had passed before venturing out.

* * *

**How is Blaise going to feel about the upcoming pranks, I wonder?**


End file.
